Description: Actuarial leaders are continuing to adapt to fully remote and hybrid environments, while also evolving their strategies to accommodate shifting needs and increase retention as the war for talent intensifies. In order to build engaged and future-focused teams that are loyal in the long-term, leaders must refine their management approach and be intentional about helping employees build relationships, connect to culture and lean into their futures with the organization. Listen as panelists share their insights on the role professional development plays in retention and ways they've effectively supported their own employees' growth and advancement to build long-term loyalty.

Description: The key to influencing others is cultivating strong relationships. While maintaining authenticity, mutual respect and integrity, it is worthwhile to develop contacts, associations and affiliations that benefit your work, organization and career growth. Explore how to create influential relationships with three different entities, including your direct reports, peer group and boss. Learn how other leaders have used influencing skills to gain success and improve their organizations.

Description: With more technology than ever to assist in communicating, the method of communication is only one hurdle to clear. Explore from various perspectives the changing dynamics of communications for actuaries. Hear from an actuary in a non-traditional role with remote team members on how to effectively (and ineffectively) create urgency and work toward a common goal. Listen to a consulting actuary discuss how to change communication style depending on the audience (external vs. internal, senior vs. junior, etc). Hear from an actuary navigating an insurance company in a remote environment where information can be disjointed between in office and remote employees. Uncover stories of what has gone well and what has not.

Description: 2021 Life Meeting - Session 9A: ASOP 56 - Modeling Begins in the Middle: Don't Forget the Beginning and the End 9.1.21 Recording

Description: An increasingly common question in our industry is - what should actuaries be doing and what should IT be doing? This gets at the difference between the self-service model, where actuaries have minimal reliance on ITand the shared-service model, where IT is a partner that helps with goals such as developing capabilities and running production models. The presenters will cover the unique value proposition of actuarial and IT functions and use that context to explore the pros and cons of the two models. They will ask what is going to drive the operating model in the future, considering the implications of trends in governance, technology toolkit and company culture. The presentation will be followed by interactive discussions on three case studies related to how IT and actuarial teams can work together most effectively, allowing the group to learn what works and what doesn't work from other companies approaching these challenges.

Description: As organizations continue to reevaluate business needs and strategize how to best move forward in an evolving industry, technology and innovation are becoming competitive differentiators. Insurers are reimagining processes and accelerating modernization initiatives, and the role of the actuary is transforming in both scope and demand. It's vital actuarial leaders recognize the impact of modernization efforts on their employees, are empathetic to their needs, and create strategies to promote engagement, development and retention during technological transformations. Discover how leaders can prepare their teams emotionally and psychologically for change, gaining their buy in and support for new initiatives while increasing long-term loyalty. A panel of actuarial leaders who have successfully led their teams through change initiatives will also offer their lessons learned and best practices. Leave with the tools and insights necessary to take an empathetic approach to modernization that eases concerns and cultivates a productive and engaged actuarial team.

Description: Learn to build an element of international exposure into your career. International assignments are incredibly varied, some of which include covering international issues from a home-country post, to short-term assignments abroad, longer postings abroad, or building a lengthy career in your country or country different from your home. Our panelists are from a variety of countries of origin, career stages, and practice areas and will share their experiences and field questions.

Description: At this panel discussion with the SOA Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Taskforce members, you will learn about the SOA's plans to partner with key local and global organizations to address societal issues such as health and well-being; decent work and economic growth; reduced inequalities; and climate action. Hear more about thetaskforce's action plan and the next phase of the engagement, which is centered on volunteer activities, namely moving forward with the SOA Innovation Team to launch the SOA SDG Incubator. Lastly, look at creating tangible opportunities for members to apply their current skills, transpose their experiences and add new skills contributing to solving for these critical issues.

Description: Research demonstrates that agile companies have outperformed others in adapting to COVID-19. This presentation will establish the need for organizational agility to keep pace with industry changes and share research and tools related to psychological safety to help create behaviors that lead to organization agility. Hear the importance of company purpose to motivate, engage and empower a workforce and discuss execution structures that can be put in place to create effective test and learn innovation teams that are creative, efficient and results-oriented.

Description: Many actuaries were grown and developed in cube-land - with many peers being just a few feet away to help develop core actuarial skills. Today, most experts agree that we will never fully return from a hybrid world, which means that our actuarial business skills and communication styles need to evolve as well to maintain relevancy in this evolving world. Many actuarial companies are more formally recognizing the importance of connection among staff to create robust systems for cultivating a strong department culture in an increasingly fractured landscape. Join us to discover more about how a connected department creates space to share resources and knowledge more freely, which is a benefit to both staff's personal development as well as the department performance as a whole.